FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2018
Chicago, IL – It has come to the attention of Cook County Republican Central Committee Chairman Sean M. Morrison that the Chicago Republican Party led by Mr. Chris Cleveland recently held a meeting of its club. Mr. Cleveland’s expressed intent for this meeting was to usurp the statutory authority of the Cook County Republican Party and its Chairman by illegitimately claiming the authority to appoint individuals to the position of Ward Committeeman.
Chairman Morrison believes that it’s imperative to publicly clarify that the Chicago Republican Party is a private club and holds no statutory authority within the Cook County Republican Central Committee. Thus, Mr. Cleveland has no authority to make any appointments to the position of Ward Committeeman and to indicate otherwise is pure deception.
“I recognize that Mr. Cleveland plays a very prominent role as Campaign Chair for the Jeanne Ives campaign for governor and he has a right to support the candidate of his choice. But, that does not mean that he can manipulate the use and influence of his role as Chairman of the Chicago Republican Club to mislead individuals into the belief that he can appoint them to the position of Ward Committeeman. His sole intent was to manufacture some sort of perceived endorsement for his candidate Jeanne Ives,” said Chairman Morrison.
Mr. Cleveland’s actions are nothing more than a blatant exploitation of his club and its By-Laws and are eerily reminiscent of the actions taken by former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz when she helped rig the DNC support and primary election in favor of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. Mr. Cleveland’s unilateral actions are an attempt to de-legitimize the vote and influence of every single Republican Committeeman in Cook County.
Deputy Chairman Aaron Del Mar added, “Mr. Cleveland’s deceitful actions have raised grave concern from numerous legitimate Republican Committeemen throughout Cook County. These actions appear to indicate a level of desperation on behalf of the Jeanne Ives campaign for governor. I’m hopeful Jeanne Ives had no previous knowledge of this rigged endorsement stunt and I call on her to publicly disavow Chris Cleveland and the devious actions he took on behalf of her campaign. I would also hope that this is not an indication on how she would govern, if elected.”
Chairman Morrison has asked Deputy Chairman Aaron Del Mar to make himself available for media inquiries to address this issue on behalf of the Cook County Republican Central Committee. Aaron can be contacted at: 773-718-1444 (P).
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